Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point.
South Tarawa (in Gilbertese Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to approximately half of Kiribati's total population. The South Tarawa population center consists of all the small islets from Betio in the West to Bonriki in the East, connected by the South Tarawa main road; with a population of 50,182 as of 2010.
Politics of Kiribati takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Kiribati is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly.